1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for smoothly operating a digital output service wherein photographic image data are recorded in a CD-R or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
A digital output service has been known wherein a photographic image is digitized by reading a developed film by using a film scanner and recorded in a storage medium such as a CD-R, a Zip disc, an MO (magnetic optical) disc or the like. Some service providers deal with photographs recorded by a digital camera in the same manner as photographs recorded on a film, and users of the digital output service have been increasing.
Most of storage media used in the digital output service generally have large capacities. For example, in the case of a CD-R, it can record image data for as many as 8 25-exposure films. However, image data for 8 films are generally not recorded at one time. At second and third uses of the service, image data are often added to the same storage medium as the one used for the first request. (Hereinafter this service is called an additional recording service.)
When the additional recording service is used, whether or not image data to be added can all be recorded in a storage medium is always a matter of concern. For example, a user wants to add image data if they can all be recorded in an existing storage medium, but may want to record all of them in a new storage medium if only a portion thereof could be added in the existing storage medium and the image data would resultantly be divided across two storage media. Alternatively, a user may reduce the amount of image data to be added by selecting only some of them if they could not all be recorded in an existing storage medium.
In the additional recording service, around 15-Mbyte of management information is recorded separately from the added image data at each additional recording. Furthermore, the data compression rate upon recording image data varies depending on the content of the image data. Therefore, data sizes upon recording may not necessarily be the same, even if original image data sizes are the same.
In other words, the free space size in one storage medium is not found by a simple calculation such as the capacity of one brand new storage medium minus a predetermined size times the number of data sets. The number of addable photographs has thus been very hard for a user to predict. Especially, for a user who is not familiar with digital expressions such as bytes, prediction of free storage space has been virtually impossible.
Based on consideration of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to aim at smooth operation of the additional recording service by letting a user or an operator of a service provider easily understand the number of photographs which can be added to a storage medium.
In FIG. 3, a method of the present invention for indicating a free space size of a storage medium is characterized by that at least one set of image data are recorded in a storage medium, and the remaining free space size of the storage medium is detected at the time of completion of the recording. In step S14, the detected free space size is recorded on a recording medium corresponding to the storage medium to be indicated thereby.
The xe2x80x9cstorage mediumxe2x80x9d means a CD-R, a Zip disc, an MO disc, a picture MD, or the like. The free space size of a storage medium means the usable area size thereof within the area wherein data can be recorded.
The time of completion of the recording means the time at which all image data requested to be added have been recorded completely. By this time, it is assumed that the management information or the like regarding the additional recording has been recorded.
The recording medium corresponding to the storage medium means a paper slip 17 on which the ID number of the storage medium is recorded, or a sticker 18 which is pasted on the storage medium, for example. Alternatively, the recording medium may be the storage medium itself. In other words, the free space size is recorded in the storage medium as free space size data and the free space size data are indicated to a user by being displayed on a monitor by a function of order processing software installed in a personal computer.
If an index print of all image data in a storage medium or of the image data having been added thereto is generated and provided to a customer, the index print may be used as the recording medium corresponding to the storage medium. In other words, the free space size may be indicated by being recorded in a blank space or the like of the index print.
It is preferable that the free space size recorded on an index print or the like is indicated as the number of films which can record the number of photographs equivalent to the number of image data sets addable in the storage medium, such as xe2x80x9c4 25-exposure filmsxe2x80x9d, for example. Alternatively, it may be indicated as the number of image data sets addable to the storage medium, such as xe2x80x9c40 exposuresxe2x80x9d. However, these numbers are the numbers found in the case where no compression of image data is carried out for example, that is, the number of image data sets which are capable of being added. Therefore, in some cases, a larger number of image data sets than the indicated number can be added.
In the case of a storage medium such as a zip disc, it is preferable to record on the recording medium not only the free space size thereof but also the date of free space size detection. When additional recording services are carried out repeatedly on one storage medium and plural sheets of index prints on which the free space sizes have been recorded are handed to a customer, the customer may be confused in finding which information is the latest, since the available free space size may have been increased after data deletion by the customer. In the case of a CD-R, the free space size is reduced at any time of additional recording, and the latest free space size is easily understood.
In order to indicate the free space size of a storage medium to a customer based on the above method, means which detects and indicates the free space size only has to be added to an image data recording apparatus. In other words, an image data recording apparatus of the present invention records image data in a storage medium, and comprises image recording means which records the image data in the storage medium, free space size detecting means which detects the free space size of the storage medium, and free space size recording means which records the free space size detected by the free space size detecting means on a recording medium corresponding to the storage medium after completion of the recording by the image recording means.
The image data recording apparatus may further comprise index print generating means which generates an index print of the image data having been recorded in the storage medium and the free space size recording means may record the free space size on the index print. It is preferable for the free space size to be recorded as the number of films or exposures, as has been described above. Furthermore, it is also preferable for the date of free space size detection to be recorded.
The index print of the present invention is characterized by that it has the free space size of the storage medium recorded thereon. In other words, the index print is a sheet on which a plurality of photographic images have been recorded in the form of an array, and is characterized by that a plurality of photographic images having been recorded in a predetermined storage medium as image data and the free space size of the storage medium at the time of generation of the index print is recorded thereon.
According to the method of the present invention for indicating the free space size of a storage medium, a precise free space size can be indicated to a user, since the free space size is detected and recorded each time a first or additional recording on the storage medium has been completed. Furthermore, since the free space size indication is carried out by recording it on a recording medium corresponding to the storage medium, such as index print for the storage medium, the free space size of the storage medium is understood immediately when an additional recording is carried out on the storage medium. In this manner, smooth service operation can be performed.
Furthermore, in this method, the free space size is expressed by the number of films or exposures such as xe2x80x9c4 25-exposure filmsxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9c40 exposuresxe2x80x9d. Therefore, a user who is not familiar with digital expressions such as bytes can readily understand the indication.
If not only the free space size but also the date of free space size detection are indicated, no confusion will occur even in the case of a storage medium such as a Zip disc which has possibility of free space size increase due to data deletion by a customer.
The image data recording apparatus of the present invention is a known image data recording apparatus but further comprises the free space size detecting means which detects the free space size of the storage medium and the free space size recording means which records the free space size of the storage medium on index print or the like. More specifically, the image data recording apparatus, as well as a printer which generates an index print or the like, can be realized as a portion of a photograph finishing system. According to this apparatus, since the free space size of a storage medium is recorded and output on a recording medium such as a sticker or index print, an operator only has to provide it to a customer.
The index print of the present invention is a print on which index images of image data recorded in a storage medium and the free space size of the storage medium are recorded, as has been described above. Therefore, a customer does not need to manage the record of the free space size of the storage medium intentionally, and by simply saving the index print, the free space size of the storage medium is understood instantaneously at the time of the next additional recording.